As the footy world obsessed about a game pitting teams in the bottom half of the ladder against each other, I decided to pivot.
Yeah, Pendles playing however-many games may be the big ticket item for those with short attention spans, but the real game to keep an eye on was always the Cats hosting the Swans at Kardinia Park. These two will be the ones remaining when the whips are cracking in September – the teams that matter, and the teams I want to know about.
Heading to Geelong is never an easy trip (unless you’re the other Sydney-based team) and it was obvious that the Swans wanted to put the brakes on the powerful run-and-carry game of the Cats, refusing to give up the corridor early, and sending James Jordon to Bailey Smith, whilst also looking to limit the Cats’ intercepting strengths, with James Rowbottom matching up on Tom Stewart.
Meanwhile, Oisin Mullin unveiled who he was targeting for the game, with Isaac Heeney having a Mullin’s target affixed to his chest.
When you look at this game as a whole, you can pinpoint a five or six minute period in the third quarter, where the Cats put their foot on the Swans’ throat, and even though Sydney were able to fight back, it gave you the sense that the home team was prepared to take whatever the Swans could conjure, and counterpunch without taking too much damage.
For this review, I am channeling our old pal, Gabriel Rossi, who I haven’t heard from in a while, and I am speculating he might have got himself a new missus and has been extremely “busy”…
Bum chika wow wow.
Wherever you are, and whatever you’re up to – thanks for all the work you put in here over the years, Gab.
Let’s jump into the Ten Things I Learned From the Cats’ win over the Swans.
This is just the introduction – the remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. We’re all in on the 2026 AFL season. Player articles, stats, awards, game coverage. Dump the mainstream lip service and dive into articles like this – you will never look back. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I consider it your loss as we get into the grind of the season, and you’re stuck with the stuff that’s frustrated you for years.
